Pat Quinn: Bears are trying to use Indiana to get best deal in Illinois
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What recent developments are impacting the Bears' stadium negotiations?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody, Midday's Tindal 2, on Chicago Sports Radio, 104.3 The Score.
This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. The latest news we have this morning is that there was supposed to be a meeting to set forth a projects bill that would include roughly $800 to $900 million to help the Bears with infrastructure for their Arlington Heights project. The governor, J.B. Pritzker's chief of staff, reporting on Twitter that Illinois was ready to move the bill forward, but the Bears requested the ILGA pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill, and they said that this morning they were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois. That is from Matt Hill, who is on J.B. Pritzker's communications staff. We now go to our hotline, because to get more information on this, we needed to call in some ringers, so...
Former Governor Pat Quinn is kind enough to join us here on Rahimi Harrison Grody, the Illinois governor from 2009 to 2015. Thank you so much for coming on.
OK, how are you guys doing? Layla and Marshall, a lot of news this morning. I'm a Bears fan from birth and I'd like to keep them in Illinois. I think the song says the pride and joy of Illinois, not of Hammond, Indiana.
Well, and I understand it from an emotional standpoint, but when you hear this news, too, as the former governor, procedurally, what are the questions you have, and how can you help us kind of sift through what all of this indicates?
How is the Bears' strategy influencing Illinois and Indiana politics?
Well, I think what Kevin Warren is doing is trying to pit Illinois and Indiana against each other. He's got a proposal for Indiana, and then another one where the Bears own land in Arlington Heights, a bought it for 300 and some odd million dollars. So he's trying to get the best deal he can from each legislature and each governor. And I think yesterday the Bears met with Governor Pritzker for, it said, three hours. So there's something cooking. I think in Illinois it's a much better deal for Bears fans and for the people. Our state is willing to provide infrastructure to get to a new stadium. The Bears got to realize, though, that they just can't take advantage of taxpayers. Back in about 25 years ago when they remodeled Soldier Field and built the new stadium there, there's still $500 million left to be paid by taxpayers on that remodeling.
That's people in Illinois and also Chicago that have to pay for something that happened a quarter century ago. I don't think it's fair for the Bears to just sort of take money for themselves and run away.
Governors, that's one of the big things we've been talking about. Economic times are pretty hard right now for a lot of people in the state, in the city, in this community, Chicagoland area.
What are the implications of the Bears' proposed stadium in Arlington Heights?
I'm curious as to your thoughts about, because you said this is old school leverage play, in my opinion, but it feels to me like what seemed like leverage off the top, the idea of building in Indiana now is more of a concrete, viable reality. How much do you think this is... plan B, something that the Bears could actually do versus something they're just threatening to do?
I think it's more of a threat. I really feel that the proposal for Arlington Heights, where they have not only the stadium, but commercial development and retail and housing around it, that's a very good proposal for economic development, far more than Hammond, Indiana. And so I think that... Ultimately, the Bears want to go to Arlington Heights, but they want to use everything they can to get a huge deal for themselves. They were asking for a 40-year property tax break, a freeze on property taxes in Arlington Heights. That's pretty hard to stomach. This is a franchise that's worth $8.9 billion right now. With a new stadium in Arlington Heights, they could make even their stadium value or their franchise value be much higher.
So I really feel it's all about money right now for the Bears. But what about the fans? What about the men and women who got there this year in the cold to root the team on?
How does Governor Quinn view the Bears' leverage tactics?
Let's think about what's good for fans.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent developments are impacting the Bears' stadium negotiations?
0:01–1:37
2
How is the Bears' strategy influencing Illinois and Indiana politics?
1:37–3:05
3
What are the implications of the Bears' proposed stadium in Arlington Heights?
3:05–4:39
4
How does Governor Quinn view the Bears' leverage tactics?
4:39–5:35
5
What concerns does Governor Quinn raise about taxpayer involvement?
5:35–7:17
6
How do the Bears' financial demands affect their relationship with fans?
7:17–8:37
7
What historical context is relevant to the current stadium negotiations?
8:37–9:58
8
What are the potential outcomes for the Bears and their fans in this situation?
9:58–13:33
Speakers
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